The 2008 International Conference

Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality'

Organized by
INFORM and CESNUR in association with ISORECEA
April 16-20, 2008 - London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London

PROGRAMME

WEDNESDAY 16th APRIL

11.30 - 16.00 REGISTRATION (Room D202, Clement House)

14.00 Preliminary visit to the Swaminarayan Temple

Participants should go directly to the Swaminarayan Temple, 105-119 Brentfield Road, Neasden, London where a guided tour will start at 14.00. Alternatively, they can assemble in front of the main entrance of the London School of Economics, Houghton Street. A party will leave from there promptly at 12.30. The guided tour is included in the registration fee. Those wishing to visit the Museum should buy their own tickets (£ 2). Please wear modest clothing: women should cover arms and legs. You will be asked to take off your shoes. There is a snack bar in the car park opposite the Temple.

The Spanish Resolution About the Church of Scientology: A Comment on a Recent Case - Carmen GARCIMARTIN (University of La Coruña)

SESSION 16 (ROOM D602)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON MOVEMENTS INSPIRED BY ASIAN RELIGIONS - III

Chair: Irene Maria BRIONES MARTINEZ

Why Did Dharma Come to the West? Theories of Easternization - Csongor SÁRKOZY (University of Szeged)

At the End of the Kami Way: a Closed Door. Traces of an Esoteric Shîntō in the First Part of the Kojikiand Possible Influence in the Genesis of New Attractive Japanese Religious Movements - Antonio SORO (University of Sassari)

TWENTY YEARS OF DISCUSSING NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS – II

Chair: Nurit ZAIDMAN

New Religions and the European Court of Human Rights - James T. RICHARDSON (University of Nevada, Reno)

When Religion Becomes a Social Problem: New Religious Movements Research as a Pioneer of theField - Titus HJELM (School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London)

Minority Religions and Political Asylum in the United States: A Comparison of Cases from China andFrance - James T. RICHARDSON (University of Nevada, Reno; the paper is co-authored by Bryan EDELMAN, of the Jury Research Institute, San Francisco, who will not present)

11.00 - 11.30 COFFEE(Room D202)

11.30 - 13 PARALLEL SESSIONS

SESSION 23 (ROOM D302)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON ESOTERICISM

Chair: James A. SANTUCCI

French Alchemical Groups of the Second Half of the 20th Century: A ComparativeStudy - José ANES (University “Nova de Lisboa”)

Playing With a Tradition or Belonging to Another Tradition? The Gnostic Beliefs in Some Minority Religious Groups - Régis DERICQUEBOURG (Charles De Gaulle-Lille 3 University)

Taming the Visionary Imagination: Revelation and Authority in French Spiritism, 1858-1870 - John MONROE (Iowa State University, Ames)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON LAW AND RELIGION

Chair: Alessandro AMICARELLI

The Extent and Limits of Religious Rights in England and Wales: The Brethren, the Law, and the Development of Individual and Group-Held Rights to Practise Separatism - Joanne BRIGGS (Barrister, London) and Vanessa TOFIELD (Solicitor, Broadway, Worcestershire)

Religious Minorities in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights - Javier MARTINEZ-TORRON (Complutense University, Madrid)

TWENTY YEARS OF THEOSOPHICAL STUDIES

Chair: Aleš ČRNIČ

Conditional Immortality and the Production of a ‘Body of Light’ in the Work of the Early Theosophical Society - John Patrick DEVENEY (Attorney, New York)

Theosophists Reunite: F. Pierce Spinks and the Return of the Masters in 1975 - Jerry HEJKA-EKINS (Alexandria West Academy, Turlock)
The Theosophical Society’s Fragmented Views of Its History and Doctrines Since 1895 - Brett FORRAY (Alexandria West Academy, Turlock)
The Conception of Christ in the Theosophical Tradition - James A. SANTUCCI (California State University, Fullerton)

19.00

MEDIEVAL BANQUET

Ivory House, St Katherines Dock, London (just east of the Tower of London)

The Medieval banquet takes place by flickering torchlight in the vaulted cellars of Ivory House, just a stone's throw from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Accompanying King Henry VIII are fighting knights, strolling players and dancing wenches which provide a magical medieval pageant for your delight. After the show, there is music and dancing, or you could take a two minute walk to Tower Bridge and enjoy a panoramic view of London by night. Four-course banquet: Menu. Unlimited wine and beer throughout the meal.

Conference banquet programme:

Chair: Eileen BARKER

Featured Speaker: Professor Laurie TAYLOR

With a distinguished background in Sociology, Professor Taylor is widely regarded as a leading radio and TV commentator on religion.

SATURDAY 19th APRIL

9.30 - 11.00 PARALLEL SESSIONS

SESSION 32 (ROOM D302)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON THE NEW AGE AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES

Chair: James BEVERLEY

New Spiritualities 2.0: New Age and Social Networking - Daren KEMP (Co-editor, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, London)

Measuring the Sacred: Research Notes on So-Called “Holistic Paradigm” in Science as Actualized by New Spiritualities Adherents - Dorota HALL (University of Warsaw)

“KNOCKING”: A MOVIE ON JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Showing of the movie followed by a panel discussion. Panelists: James
BECKFORD (University of Warwick), David VOAS (University of
Manchester), Tony BRACE (Jehovah's Witnesses/UK)

SESSION 34 (ROOM D502)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS - I

Chair: Christine SCOTT

A Crisis of Charismatic Authority: Developments Within the International Churches of Christ - Sarah HARVEY (Inform, London)

Quakerism in Exile: American Imperialism and the Search for Peace - Kevin KENJAR (Central European University, Budapest)

Case Study: A Close Look into an Immigrant Workers’ Church in Beijing - LIU Qi (Doctoral Candidate, Peking University)

SESSION 35 (ROOM D602)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS - I

Chair: Michael W. HOMER

On the Road from Salt Lake to the Conversion of French Academia - Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD (Michel de Montaigne University, Bordeaux 3)

Progressive Spiritual Politics at a Global Level: A Healthy Response to the Archetype of the Apocalypse? - Sebastian JOB (University of Sydney)

Crossover Trends Between Aesthetic Diversity in Belief and Dogmatic Uniformity in Believing, as Currently Observable in New Religious Movements - Raphaël LIOGIER (Institute of Policy Studies/Political Science, Aix-en-Provence)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS - II

Chair: Liselotte FRISK

Failed Prophecy and Group Demise: Challenging the Festinger Thesis - Stuart A. WRIGHT (Lamar University, Beaumont; the paper is co-authored by Arthur L. GREIL, of Alfred University, who will not present)

Position of Non-traditional Religious Communities Following the Adoption of
the Romanian Law on Religious Freedom and the General Regime of Religious Denominations - Romanita IORDACHE (Human Rights Lawyer, Center for Legal Resources, Romania)

Religious Rights in the Georgian Setting - Archil GIORGADZE (Head of Human Rights Protection Unit, Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia)

TWENTY YEARS OF CASE STUDIES ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

Chair: Sébastien GREGOV

The Black Hebrews of Dimona: An Afro-American Community in Israel - Enrico GIRMENIA (Clinical Psychologist, Rome)

New Religious Movements and the New Spirituality as a Challenge to the Secularization Paradigm - Implications for Theoretical Developments in the Sociology of Religion - Katarzyna ZIELINSKA (Doctoral Candidate, Jagellonian University, Krakow)

Death in New Religious Movements (NRMs) in Britain: ISKCON, The Western Buddhist Order and Scientology - A Comparison - Silke STEIDINGER (Inform, London)

Let’s Talk: An Exploration of the Applications of Systemic Theory and Practice in the Development of Relationship with New Religious Movements and Their Current/Former Adherents - Alastair PEARSON (University of Oxford)

SESSION 45 (ROOM D702)

TWENTY YEARS OF STUDIES ON RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION